Brazil - The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget - page 234

Neoclassical Palácio Tiradentes , the Rio
state parliament, while to the north is the
Arco de Teles , constructed on the site of
the old pelourinho (pillory) in around
1755, and now leading to Rua do Ouvidor
and Rua do Mercado, both lively streets
with restaurants, cafés, bookshops, and
after-work bars and clubs.
On the Rua I de Março side of Praça
Quinze, the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do
Carmo da Antigá Sé (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
served until 1980 as Rio's cathedral.
Inside, the high altar is detailed in silver
and boasts a beautiful work by the
painter Antônio Parreires. Below, in the
crypt , rest the supposed remains of Pedro
Álvares Cabral, Portuguese discoverer of
Brazil - though his final resting place is
more likely to be Santarém in Portugal.

enormous Porto Maravilha redevelopment,
featuring cruise ship berths, concert halls,
new housing and a light railway, planned
for completion before the Olympics.

Museu Histórico Nacional
he Museu Histórico Nacional (Tues-Fri
10am-5.30pm, Sat & Sun 2-6pm; R$6;
W

museuhistoriconacional.com.br), housed
in the former military arsenal, is located
south from Praça XV de Novembro in the
shadow of the Kubitschek flyover. The
exhibits contain some pieces of great
interest, from furniture, firearms and
locomotives to displays on indigenous
societies and the sugar, gold, coffee and
beef trades. Information about slavery -
so important to Brazil's history - is scarce,
while the monarchy is granted ample
space. There is also very limited
information available in English. Despite
this, the varied collection makes it one of
Brazil's most important museums.

3

North to São Bento and the port
Heading up Rua 1 de Março from the praça ,
you'll pass the church of Santa Cruz dos
Militares (Mon-Fri 10am-3pm), dating
from 1628 and rebuilt in granite and
marble by the army in 1780; a display of
ecclesiastical and military oddments is to
be found inside. The grand interior of the
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (Tues-Sun
10am-9pm; W bb.com.br/cultura), Rio's
most dynamic arts centre, is just north of
here and well worth a look around. Just
beyond, the enormous Candelária church
(Mon-Fri 7.30am-4pm, Sat-Sun
9am-noon) looms into view, luxuriously
decorated inside in marble and bronze.
A short way from the entrance a simple
wooden cross inscribed with eight names
(and with flowers usually laid nearby)
commemorates police shootings of street
children that took place here in 1993, and
serves as an ongoing plea for respect of
human rights in Rio. The northward
continuation of Rua 1 de Março, the
Ladeira de São Bento, leads to the hilltop
Igreja e Mosteiro de São Bento (daily
7am-6pm, Sun Mass at 9am), founded by
Benedictine monks in 1633. The facade is
pleasingly simple with twin pyramid-
shaped spires, while the interior is richly
adorned in gold designs and statues of
saints, popes and bishops executed by the
deft hand of Mestre Valentim. Further
north again is Praça Mauá, now part of the

Carioca, Saara and Campo de Santana
The bustling square Largo da Carioca
(Metrô Carioca) is dominated from above
by the cloistered Igreja e Convento de
Santo Antônio (Mon-Fri 8am-7pm,
Sat & Sun 9-11am), though the square's
other historical buildings were, sadly,
lost to ugly new high-rises. Built between
1608 and 1620, this is Rio's oldest
church, a tranquil refuge decorated in
marble and Portuguese tiling. Adjoining
it, the striking Igreja de São Francisco da
Penitência (Tues-Fri 1-4pm) contains
extensive gold and silver ornamentation.
Lively shopping street Rua Uruguaiana
heads north from here towards the
Candelária, while westwards along ruas
Alfândega and Passos takes you through
Rio's best (and cheapest) market area,
known as Saara , originally peopled by
Jewish and Arab merchants.
A block south of Saara, the Igreja de
São Francisco de Paula (Mon-Fri
9am-1pm), the site of the Mass to
“swear-in” the Brazilian Constitution in
1831, contains meticulous decoration by
Valentim da Fonseca e Silva, known to
Cariocas as Mestre Valentim, Brazil's most
important eighteenth-century sculptor.
One of Rio's most impressive ornate